"They thought she had died. She was there for three hours before she was discovered," said Marizeh's doctor, Kaveh Alizadeh.

The plastic surgeon, who founded a nonprofit group that provides medical care to needy children, first heard Marizeh's story during a trip to Afghanistan.

On Friday, Alizadeh performed surgery on Marizeh at South Nassau Communities hospital on Long Island to help repair lingering damage to her breathing and facial structure. She had previously been fitted with a temporary prosthetic eye.